Tales from a Runner 5 - The Maestro's Adventures in Abel Township
by MaestroOrpheus
Summary: The Maestro, a Timelord, finds himself in the position of a runner. He was sent to try to save Abel Township from utter destruction, but will he be able to save the township, and humanity, from the undead?
1. Chapter 1

The time traveler paced back and forth in front of the monitor, which showed a meager settlement in a clearing near the woods. People rushed back and forth between tents, unaware of the ship hiding high up in the clouds. The time traveler had been sent here to observe the situation, but the more he watched the people trying to survive in such a harsh environment, the more and more he wished he could do something to help. As he watched, he saw a large group approaching from the north. He zoomed in on them.

"New Canton Army, it would seem," he said to himself. Helplessly, he watched as the approaching army attacked the small settlement. Then he noticed another group moving in. "What the hell?" He focused on the incoming group and saw that they ran in a tight formation, all wearing the same blue jumpsuits. A couple figures moved toward the front, carrying what looked like a rocket launcher. He watched as the rocket was fired into the midst of the battle for the settlement. The rocket tore through the concrete wall that acted as a barricade protecting the tents from the outside world like it was paper. The new group moved as one, swarming the settlement as well as the New Canton army. As the traveler watched, he realized something seemed off. He zoomed in as far as his ship's camera would allow, and gasped at what he saw. The new arrivals had a distinct gray tint to their skin and many of them had large gaping wounds on their faces and torsos. The traveler realized that this was an army of THE UNDEAD.

He rushed to the console and activated the comm system. The screen flickered and the image of the settlement, now consumed with flame, was replaced by the image of an old man in velvet robes. "What is it, Maestro?" the old man said, his voice croaking and rasping with age.

"I am at the temporal coordinates which I was assigned. The settlement has been attacked and destroyed, both by enemy attack and by the undead which plague the planet. Please, you have to let me do something to help them. There must be something we can do!"

At first, the old man seemed unmoved by the request made of him by the Maestro. "You have taken an oath of noninterference. This point is fixed. There is nothing we can do."

"Please sir," implored the Maestro. "There must be a way to help give them a fighting chance. Even if the attack cannot be prevented, isn't it worth saving the people? There are so few living humans left on this planet. We must save the ones who can be saved!"

The old man stood silent for a moment. After some thought he looked up and said, "Maestro, your compassion for the humans is one of your strengths. You have not always acted wisely, but you have always had good intentions. We will consider it. If there is something that can be done, we will let you know. We will contact you in a few hours with our decision."

"Thank you," said the Maestro excitedly. The screen went black as the old man terminated the connection. The Maestro left the bridge to head to his quarters. He needed his rest, but he doubted he would be able to sleep much.


	2. Chapter 2

Hours later, the Maestro returned to the bridge. As he predicted, he had been unable to get much rest. His mind just would not calm down as he ran every scenario imaginable on ways to save Abel Township. As he stepped onto the bridge, the comm system beeped, alerting him to an incoming transmission. He activated the system and stood facing the same man from before.

"We have conferred and are in agreement. It seems that the events which you watched were not how things were supposed to transpire. It is unclear if there has been temporal tampering elsewhere, but we have decided to allow you to attempt to restore things to their proper place. We are sending you mission specs. We have determined the critical point; the township should have received assistance from a new runner. It seems that as things stand now, that runner did not survive, thus was not able to be there for critical events. You will use a neural transmitter to transfer your mind into the body of this runner. You must make sure that he survives. If he does, then we believe things will change drastically. It won't prevent the attacks, but perhaps you can save the people inside or at least give them a fighting chance."

"Thank you sir," replied the Maestro. He ended the transmission and began to review the mission. Once he had read through the file a few times, he made his preparations. He put his timeship into a temporal orbit of the point shortly after the attack. He would set up the neural transmitter to send his mind back to a set point in the past, using the temporal orbit to act as an anchor. He would be able to use his knowledge to help steer things so that the town was better prepared for the attack. He hoped this would work. The lives of about 60 men and women depended on it.


	3. Chapter 3

Hours later, the Maestro placed the electrodes on his temples and sat down on the chair. He had never undergone this procedure, so he didn't know just what to expect. He swallowed down the last remnant of fear and activated the device. The Maestro screamed as his mind was torn from his body. His view of the bridge stretched as the device sent his mind back in time. It seemed as if an eternity had passed, and then suddenly his vision returned. He no longer found himself in his ship. Instead, he sat in the back of a military helicopter. The pilot turned and spoke to him, unaware that anything had changed. "She thinks I'm someone else," he thought, still trying to get his bearings.

"Not much more than a few fences to keep the zoms out. Tiny little island of humanity. I just don't know how they live like that. I guess they won't have to live like that for much longer. So, I expect you aren't allowed to speak about what you're being sent into the township for."

The Maestro sat quietly, unsure of what to say. The pilot continued. "Nah, I suppose not. I know how these things work, they don't even tell you till you get there." The pilot picked up the radio handset and flipped a few dials, looking for the proper frequency. "Abel Township, Abel Township, this is Jolly Alpha Five Niner from Mullins Base. We're about 5 miles southeast, bringing in medical supplies, shelters, and the temporary loan of one of our people. Requesting permission to land." The radio crackled and a voice answered.

"Got that… I mean, uhhh, roger that. You're clear to, ummm… Yeah, come on in," said a man. As the pilot acknowledged permission, the helo began to descend. The Maestro looked around, only half paying attention to the pilot babble on about how there were fewer supplies than usual and something about a "Project Greenshoot." As the pilot continued, the Maestro looked out the window. Below, he could make out the form of two figures in blue jumpsuits.

"It can't be," he thought, too stunned to speak. "Did I go back far enough?" Suddenly, he saw one of the figures lift something on its shoulder – a rocket launcher. It fired the rocket at the helo. There was no time for evasive actions. Jolly Alpha Five Niner was hit. The pilot radioed in a mayday, alerting Abel Township they were going down about 3 miles away. The Maestro overheard the man from Abel over the radio as he held on for dear life, then everything went black.

A few minutes later, the Maestro opened his eyes. He was still strapped into his seat, but the helo was a charred mess. Sparks danced from the controls and the radio emitted only static. The pilot was also still strapped in, her face covered with blood. "Stay still," ordered the Maestro as he unhooked his restraints. "We were shot and we've crashed." He gave himself a quick examination, and after being sure that he had no broken bones, he began rooting around the helo. "I'm going to try to get some help. You stay here; you're pretty badly hurt by the looks of things." The pilot turned to look at him and opened her mouth, as if to speak. Instead, only a gurgling sound came out as blood trickled down her chin. The Maestro knew she wouldn't make it. She looked at him, her eyes filled with sadness. Then, her head slumped.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," was all he could say as he watched the life drain out of her eyes. Just then, he heard a voice crackle over the radio. It was Abel Township! The man from before, who now addressed himself as Sam Yao, said he was a radio operator. "I'm not equipped to handle this kind of stuff," he said. "You've come down in a nest of hostiles," he continued, "and they're coming. There are thirty… no, uhhh, forty… no, oh crap…. You're only safe path is toward the tower. If there's anyone out there still alive, just run!"

The Maestro didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed a few supplies from the wreckage, not knowing how long he'd be on his own. Then he pulled the radio out of the helo's dashboard. Thankfully, it was small and didn't weigh much. The transmitter had broken in the crash, but he didn't want to be without any contact with Sam. He took off running towards a large radio tower, just as a growling pack of zoms emerged from a group of trees. He had come here to make sure this runner, whoever he was, survived. He was not about to become a snack for a bunch of undead creatures.


	4. Chapter 4

The Maestro woke with a start. He looked around, trying to blink away the blurriness. "Where am I?" he wondered as his vision began to clear. He could tell from all the blinking lights that he wasn't in his bunk. Had he fallen asleep in the comm shack again? Then he realized that this room was too big to be the comm shack. He stood up and looked around at the foreign looking tech that lined the walls and the hexagonal table in the middle of the room. Then it all came back to him. He wasn't really Runner 5, he was the Maestro. This was his timeship, and he had been trying to change history so that Abel Township survived. He pulled the electrodes off his face and rushed to the console and pulled up a live shot of where Abel should have been. It was still a smoldering pile of debris. He began to worry that maybe it had all been a dream; that maybe he hadn't actually made any changes. He punched a few buttons and brought up replay footage of the last few minutes. He gaped slack-jawed at the township that showed up on his screen. No longer was it a loose collection of tents, as it had been not too long ago. Instead, several sturdy looking buildings stood within the confines of the concrete fence. He had done it! He had spent months living among the people of Abel Township (or at least his mind had) and had changed events for the positive.

"This isn't good enough!" he shouted, quickly realizing that there had to be something else he could do. "The township was clearly more prepared for an attack, but they still fell to New Canton, and to the zoms. Obviously, I can't go back again, because I'm back there already. But there must be something I can do to give extra assistance. But what?"

The Maestro ran from the bridge, down a series of hallways, and into his science lab. There would still be some time before the council realized that he had woken up. He would figure out a way to game the system. He would change history again. Abel would be the best settlement it could be in this apocalyptic wasteland. He would not let it fall.


End file.
